Wealth
Every character has a Wealth bonus that reflects his or her buying power—a composite of income, credit rating, and savings. A character’s Wealth bonus serves as the basis of the character’s Wealth check, which is used to purchase equipment and services for the character. Why a Wealth System? You might be tempted to wonder why such a system is necessary. In most games, it's usually enough to simply keep a running total of your character's cash and purchase from that pool anything your character needs and can afford. In a simpler social setting, like the medieval fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons, or even the 1920s setting of d20 Call of Cthulhu, this is clearly the sensible solution. But in the modern world, a character's ability to obtain things isn't limited by, or even related to, the amount of cash in his wallet. Characters have bank accounts and credit cards. They can obtain store cards at retailers. They can get car loans, mortgages, and lines of credit. They may have investments that earn interest or pay dividends. In short, modern finance is a very complicated affair. In designing the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game, we were faced with a choice between modeling this complexity (which could be extremely complicated) or ignoring it (which would leave many players wondering why their characters can't take advantage of the wonders of modern credit that they themselves have easy access to). We chose to model it. But in so doing, we wanted to ensure that balancing your character's checkbook didn't become more complicated than balancing your own -- this is just a game after all, and we're supposed to be playing it for fun. The Wealth system keeps character finance simple and flexible. It works much like skills do, making it easy to use. You simply keep track of your Wealth bonus to see what sort of financial shape your character is in. There are two variants to the system. One is a static gain/loose system. The other has a cap of wealth for characters, and as time passes, the character regains wealth lost from purchases until it hits the cap. How Wealth Works Three factors play into your character's financial strength (her ability to purchase items): her Wealth bonus, her Profession skill, and personal achievements. Sometimes other things can influence it, like reputation, feats, salvaging old equipment, and gambling. Profession Skill: In d20 Modern, the Profession skill doesn't work quite the way it does in other d20 games. Instead of being a tool for generating cash in downtime, it's used to improve your Wealth bonus. It represents, essentially, your character's degree of professional advancement, measured by the buying power it gives her. In addition, the ranks you have in the Profession skill add to the Wealth bonus increase you receive. Like any other skill, you never lose ranks in Profession. Thus, as you go up in level and gain ranks in Profession, you develop a certain level of buying power that will never go down. A much bigger factor in your ability to buy things, however, and one that can fluctuate up and down, is your Wealth bonus. Wealth Bonus: Every character has a Wealth bonus. It's based initially on your character's starting occupation (something you choose during character creation, which gives you, in addition to a Wealth bonus, some additional class skills and perhaps feats) and a random roll. Every time you go up in level, you make a Profession check to see if your Wealth bonus increases (or if the cap increases with the regeneration system). That's important because you have many opportunities to drive your Wealth bonus down. Any time you buy something beyond your everyday means, your Wealth bonus goes down. Buy something just a little beyond your means, and your Wealth bonus goes down 1 point. Buy something way beyond your means, and it may drop by much more. Every time you buy something especially expensive, even if you're quite rich, it goes down an extra point. Buying Things To buy something, you make a Wealth check against the purchase DC of the item. Your Wealth check is equal to Xd6 + your current Wealth bonus (very different from a normal skill). If you meet or exceed the DC, you get the item. If you don't, you can't buy the item at that time (you don't have the cash on hand, your credit cards are maxed out, or the item isn't available at the usual price). The Wealth system includes rules for trying again, taking 10 (average) and 20 (max), how aiding another works with purchase attempts, and other ways you can gain bonuses to the check. You might notice right away that some things are going to be virtually free. If your character has a Wealth bonus of +7, you can automatically succeed at any check with a DC of 7 or lower; there's no need to even roll the dice. That's the way it's intended to work. For that character, items that have a purchase DC of 7 or less are well within your means, and you can buy as many of them as you like. (A purchase DC of 7, by the way, will get you a taser, a 50-foot length of det cord, a knife, a briefcase, a fatigue jacket, a pair of handcuffs, dinner at an upscale restaurant, or a night at a budget hotel, to name a few examples.) Seven is a pretty average Wealth bonus for a middle-class character, and the sorts of things it buys are the sorts of things average middle-class people can afford without any significant financial duress. A richer character might have a bonus of, say, 14, which puts anything with a purchase DC of 14 within easy reach. (A purchase DC of 14 gets you a very inexpensive handgun, several types of light body armor, a tool kit, a basic electrical tool kit, or a coach ticket on a domestic airline flight.) Again, these are the things a richer character can purchase without any impact on his financial wellbeing -- without even having to roll the dice. To purchase more expensive items, you have to actually make a check; though, it’s a check with d6’s instead of a D20. That character with the Wealth bonus of 7 should have no trouble succeeding in a check with a DC in the teens (which will get him, for example, a decent firearm, some tactical body armor, or a set of night-vision goggles). He could take Maximum and succeed in a check with a DC of 13, 19, 25, etc. (enough to buy a mid-range car, or maybe even make a down payment on a small condo). The richer character taking MAX could succeed at a DC of 20, 26, 32, etc. (which will buy any but the most expensive luxury cars, make a down payment on a fairly expensive home, or acquire anything on the personal weapons list). But these sorts of purchases affect a character's financial state: If the purchase DC is higher than your Wealth bonus, your Wealth drops a point, making it harder to afford the next big item (and reducing the purchase DC that you can make for free). What You Don't Have to Worry About The Wealth system abstracts your character's income, savings, and creditworthiness into a single, easy-to-track number and a simple system of checks. That abstraction also covers such mundane expenses as rent, utility bills, car insurance, and the myriad of other routine costs that accompany modern life. Your Wealth bonus reflects your buying power after dealing with these everyday expenses, so you don't have to worry about that stuff. You're only faced with accounting for the gear and services your character needs to face the challenges of modern adventuring. Other Advantages In addition to accounting for your credit, savings, and income in one easy-to-use check, this new Wealth system offers a number of other cool features. We've included rules for requisitioning items (if your character works for a government agency or similar employer), finding things on the black market, and even dealing with legal restrictions and licenses. The purchase DCs assigned to items integrate easily into these systems much more easily than dollar amounts would. The Wealth system also negates the effects of inflation. The purchase DC for an item is just as meaningful if your game is set in 2002 as it would be if set in 1972, because the DC represents the item's value relative to the economy of the times. There's even a set of "on-hand" rules, allowing you to quickly determine if your character has a baseball bat in his garage or a flashlight in the trunk of her car. This gives you rules to cover the scores of minor items that every reasonable character might have around, even if you didn't write them down on your character sheet. Wealth Bonus To determine a character’s starting Wealth bonus, roll 2d4 and add the wealth bonus for the character’s starting occupation, plus (if appropriate) the bonus from the Windfall feat, plus 1 if the character has ranks in Profession (this will also determine the cap if using the regeneration system). Over the course of play, the hero’s Wealth bonus will decrease as the hero purchases expensive items and increase either as the hero gains levels for the standard system or the regenerate over in-game time with the regeneration system. A character’s Wealth bonus can never fall below +0, and there is no limit to how high the Wealth bonus can ultimately climb. Since Wealth is an abstract concept, it’s sometimes difficult to determine how financially well off a character is. To get a general sense of how financially solvent a character is at any given time, check the table below. Purchasing Equipment Wealth checks are used to determine what characters can afford and what gear they might reasonably have access to. Every character has a Wealth bonus that reflects his or her buying power. Every object and service has a purchase DC. To purchase an object, make a Wealth check against the purchase DC, except, the player uses d6’s instead of a d20. Purchasing Multiple of the Same Thing at the Same Time A Character may purchase most items multiple times. The number of items allowed per time shopping is relative to the base purchase DC. If the items are 9 or less, then you will add one to the PDC of the item for every item you want to add to the total quantity without adding more than an hour/increase to obtain the item (discussed later). If the item is 10 to 14 in price, then add two to the PDC for every item added (and thus, 2 hours of time to obtain). If above 14, they buy each as though they bought them one at a time. The GM may make special rules for buying items in bulk (10 items, 500 items, 25,000 items, etc.). The Wealth Check The Wealth bonus is fluid. It increases as a character gains Wealth and decreases as the character makes purchases. A Wealth check is Xd6’s roll plus a character’s current Wealth bonus. The number of d6’s used is determined by how much the player wishes to risk verses the cost of the item. For every d6 used the character looses one point of wealth if the check is successful. Example one: If the item desired is 3 points above a characters current wealth bonus, he may choose to roll a d6 and add his current wealth bonus. If the roll results in 3 or higher the item is purchased and the character looses one point in addition to any other losses that may need to be accounted for. If the roll is one or two, then the character was not able to purchase the item, and no wealth is lost. Example two: If the item desired is 11 points above a characters current wealth bonus, he may choose to roll 2d6 and add his current wealth bonus. Since the roll is unlikely to succeed, the player may choose to add an additional d6, now 3d6. This means that the character chances to lose 3 wealth, but is more likely to succeed. If the roll results in 11 or higher the item is purchased and the character looses 3 points in addition to any other losses that may need to be accounted for. If the roll is less than 11, then the character was not able to purchase the item, and no wealth is lost. If the character succeeds on the Wealth check, the character gains the object. If the character fails, he or she can’t afford the object at the time. If the character’s current Wealth bonus is equal to or greater than the DC, the character automatically succeeds. Wealth and the Starting Hero A newly created 1st-level character’s Wealth bonus is +0 plus: *Wealth provided by the character’s starting occupation. *Bonus from the Windfall feat, if taken. *2d4 die roll. *+1 for having 1 to 4 ranks in the Profession skill. *+1d6 starting wealth from the “Heir” Occupation if the player sacrifices one point of in game Wealth Shopping and Time Buying less common objects generally takes a number of hours equal to the purchase DC of the object or service, reflecting the time needed to locate the wanted materials and close the deal. Getting a license or buying an object with a restriction rating increases the time needed to make purchases. Taking 10 and Taking 20 (in this case, taking the average or the maximum) A character can usually average out or max out all d6’s when making a Wealth check provided that the character has enough time to make the purchase normally (is not in a rush). Maxing the d6 requires 20 times as long as normal. Spending Beyond Your Means Also, there is a penalty for spending beyond a character’s means. Whenever a character buys an object that has a purchase DC higher than his or her current Wealth bonus, the character’s Wealth bonus decreases (see below). Try Again? A character can try again if he or she fails a Wealth check, but not until the character has spent an additional number of hours shopping equal to the purchase DC of the object or service. Aid Another A player may aid another in a wealth check to purchase an item if you can succeed in a check that is ¾ off the total price of the item. If successful, she grants the character attempting the purchase a +2 to their bonus. She also takes a hit according to how much she risked and other penalties, as though she bought an item worth the modified DC. Losing Wealth Object or Service Purchase DC Wealth Bonus Decrease Item costs 15 or more -11 Every 10 points past 15 an item costs -1 point per 101 Every d6 you use to purchase an item 1 point per d6 Every 50% a purchase DC is over the character’s Wealth2 -1 per 50% over Every person helping you buy an item3 +2 point per person Buying through the black market -1 for every 10 points the item costs1 1 – This stacks with the loss from a Purchase DC above the character’s current wealth bonus. 2 – This does not count for the first 30% 3 – This is only for the time it takes to make the given purchase. A character’s Wealth bonus only goes down if he or she successfully buys an object or service. If the character attempts to buy something and the check fails, his or her Wealth bonus is unaffected. Wealth Bonus of +0 A character’s Wealth bonus can never decrease to less than +0. If a character’s Wealth bonus is +0, the character doesn’t have the buying power to purchase any object or service that has a purchase DC of 10 or higher, and can’t take average or take Max. Also, it always takes a number of hours equal to the purchase DC of the object or service. Regaining Wealth, Standard System A character’s Wealth bonus recovers as the character advances through the game. Every time a character accomplishes a mission, or a given amount of in game time has expired, she makes a Profession check. (If the character has no ranks in the skill, this check is a Wisdom check.) The DC is equal to the character’s current Wealth bonus. If the character succeeds, his or her current Wealth bonus increases by +1. Regaining Wealth, Regeneration System Wealth Awards Adventuring may result in characters finding valuable items. In such cases, the benefit translates into a Wealth award. This could mean selling spoils for strait up cash or using them to offset the cost of crafting, or being rewarded a bonus from an employer. Selling Stuff To sell something, a character first needs to determine its sale value. Assuming the object is undamaged and in working condition, the sale value is equal to the object’s purchase DC (as if purchased new) minus 3. Selling an object can provide an increase to a character’s Wealth bonus. The increase is the same amount as the Wealth bonus loss the character would experience if the character purchased an object with a purchase DC equal to the sale value. Regardless of the character’s current Wealth bonus, he or she gains a Wealth bonus increase of 1 whenever the character sells an object with a sale value of 12 to 23, a +2 if 24 to 35, a +3 if 36 to 47 and so on. If a character sells an object with a sale value less than or equal to his or her current Wealth bonus, and that sale value is 14 or lower, the character gains nothing. A character cannot legally sell restricted objects unless the character is licensed to own them. A character also cannot legally sell objects that have been reported as stolen. Selling objects illegally usually requires that the character have contacts in the black market, and reduces the sale value by an additional 3. Selling takes a number of hours equal to the normal purchase DC of the item. BUYING SERVICES When a hero buys services, use these rules to arrive at an asking price and a bare minimum price. In most cases, the arrived-at cost is per task performed on the hero’s behalf, regardless of how many skill checks are involved. These rules are specifically for buying services, as opposed to labor that results in tangible merchandise. Determining Cost Every service has an asking price and a bare minimum price. The person providing the service starts by asking the highest price he thinks his services are worth, expressed as a Purchase DC. This number is equal to his total skill modifier for the appropriate skill, multiplied by 1.5, rounded down. If two or more skills apply, multiply the average of the skill modifiers by 1.5 to arrive at the Purchase DC. If no particular skill seems to apply, use the character’s Profession skill modifier. If the Purchase DC is fewer than 2, the character refuses to take the job—or takes it, then badly bungles it. A hero can attempt to negotiate a lower price with an opposed Diplomacy check. For each point by which the hero beats the supporting character’s Diplomacy check, the Purchase DC drops by 1. But for each point by which the supporting character’s Diplomacy check beats the hero’s, the Purchase DC goes up by 1. You can take 10 or take 20 on this check (as can your opponent). No retries are allowed. Haggling the price in this fashion can never reduce the Purchase DC to fewer than the supporting character’s skill ranks in the relevant skill (or average ranks in the relevant skills), multiplied by 1.5, rounded down. This is the bare minimum price; doing the job for less starts costing the character money. =Finite Wealth System= This system uses a more traditional monetary system. Characters have dollars that are lost when they purchase any item. Items cost are determined by the corresponding dollar amount to their PDC, then, upon the time of purchase, the price is adjusted by 1d8-3%. This means that the price can be as much as 5% more expensive and as little as 2% cheaper. This modifier can be changed with diplomacy, profession, and charisma checks as well as situational/circumstantial modifiers from the GM. Category:GameMaster Category:Mechanics